COSTA MESA, Calif. – Marc Trejo (SR/Santa Ana, CA) earned his first career hat trick and Vanguard posted its sixth straight shutout in a 3-0 victory over Arizona Christian in the semifinals of the Golden State Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Thursday at the VU Soccer Complex.
Trejo scored goals in the 29th, 68th and 82nd minutes as the top-seed Lions blanked the No. 5 seed Firestorm by a 3-0 score for the second time this season. Trejo now has five goals this season, second-most on the team.
VU ran its overall win streak to eight in a row, improving to 13-3-1 on the season and advancing to the tournament championship match. The Lions host third-seeded Menlo College on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1:00 p.m.
Menlo defeated No. 2 seed The Master's by a 5-0 score in the first semifinal earlier this afternoon.
Over its last six games, Vanguard has outscored the opponent by a collective 15-0 margin.
The Lions have allowed just six goals all season – the fewest among all NAIA schools.
What Happened?: Austin Tubbs (JR/Long Beach, CA) forced Arizona Christian goalie Eddie Delgadillo into a couple of early saves, but the Firestorm nearly got on the board first.
Esteban Franco got loose in the middle of the field and unleashed a rocket to the left corner, but Vanguard goalie James Choi (SR/Irvine, CA) anticipated the shot and dove hard to his right to make the save in the 23rd minute.
Less than six minutes later, the Lions made Arizona Christian pay for the missed opportunity. Nathaniel Gomez (SO/Dominguez, CA), who had just entered the game as a substitution, dropped off a short pass to Trejo. Trejo took it in stride and buried a shot to the lower left corner for the 1-0 lead at the 28:49 mark. Gomez recorded his first assist on the year.
The Firestorm had another golden chance late in the first half following a Choi miscue. Choi was ready to punt the ball but inadvertently dropped it. He attempted to pick the ball back up, but by rule could not do so. The ensuing foul fortunately occurred outside of the 18 and did not result in a penalty kick for ACU. On the reset, ACU got the ball to Ricardo Rivas, who worked his way to get off a shot while Choi scrambled to get back in position. Rivas eventually took his shot but Choi was there to stop it.
Arizona Christian came out aggressive to start the second half and fired off shots from Franco, Brandon Camacho and Nestor Serrano, but to no avail.
It was the Lions who capitalized on their first real opportunity of the second half. Trejo accepted a pass from Mario Gonzalez (JR/Anaheim, CA) and poked a shot to the near post for the 2-0 lead at 67:33. It was the third assist for Gonzalez this season.
Trejo nearly earned his hat trick in the 77th minute on a dangerous foray into ACU territory. He weaved his way into position and hit a hard shot which Delgadillo saved.
Trejo would not be denied the hat trick on his next attempt. Nicolai Dejbakhsh (FR/Laguna Niguel, CA) started the sequence by playing a pass down the left flank to Andrew Sanchez (FR/Broomfield, CO). Sanchez took a few dribbles before scooting a through ball to Trejo, who evaded a defender before slotting his third goal of the match to the lower right corner. Sanchez earned his second assist this season.
The Lion defense held strong and did not yield a single shot to Arizona Christian for the final 36 and a half minutes.
VU outshot ACU 15-9 for the game and held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Why Is It Important?: Vanguard is in the GSAC Tournament finals for the first time since 2018. The Lions are seeking their first GSAC Tournament title since 2014 when they take the field on Saturday.
What Was Said?: "We had a difficult time getting our legs under us. Having not played for two weeks really showed today," said Head Coach Randy Dodge. "We put another clean sheet up. So happy for Tiger, as he was at a different level today. His first touch was a goal and he continued to elevate that game all the way through. Hopefully after this long layoff we have the legs to finish off the season by winning the conference tournament!"
What's Next?: Vanguard faces Menlo this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the VU Soccer Complex. The Lions defeated the Oaks, 1-0, on Oct. 14 in Atherton on a Stewart Alvayero (JR/Los Angeles, CA) goal in the second minute.
